Sitakant Mahapatra was born on 17 September 1937 and is an Indian poet and literary critic in Odia as well as English.
13 Facts About Sitakant Mahapatra
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Sitakant Mahapatra served in the Indian Administrative Service from 1961 until he retired in 1995, and has held ex officio posts such as the Chairman of National Book Trust, New Delhi since then.
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Sitakant Mahapatra has published over 15 poetry collection, 5 essay collections, a travelogue, over 30 contemplative works, apart from numerous translations.
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Sitakant Mahapatra was awarded the 1974 Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia for his poetry collection, Sabdara Akasha.
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Sitakant Mahapatra was awarded the Jnanpith Award in 1993 "for outstanding contribution to Indian literature" and in its citation the Bharatiya Jnanpith noted, "Deeply steeped in western literature his pen has the rare rapturous fragrance of native soil"; he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and Padma Vibhushan in 2011 for literature apart from winning the Soviet Land Nehru Award, Kabeer Samman and several other prestigious awards.
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Sitakant Mahapatra went on to complete a master's degree in Political Science from Allahabad University in 1959.
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Sitakant Mahapatra took to teaching for two years at Post-Graduate Department of Utkal University, before taking the Indian Administrative Services examination.
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Sitakant Mahapatra joined the IAS in 1961 as the first Odia to stand first in India in the UPSC examination, and went on to hold several key posts, including Home Secretary, Government of Orissa, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and President, UNESCO's World Decade for Cultural Development.
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Sitakant Mahapatra has held many other ex officio positions including those of Senior Fellow of Harvard University; Honorary Fellow of International Academy of Poets, Cambridge University, and Chairman of the National Book Trust, New Delhi.
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Sitakant Mahapatra was the first ever Banking Ombudsman for Odisha.
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Sitakant Mahapatra is the recipient of many awards including the Orissa Sahitya Academy Award, 1971 and 1984; Sahitya Akademi Award, 1974; Sarala Award, 1985; culminating in India's highest literary honour the Jnanpith Award in 1993.
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Sitakant Mahapatra spent two years studying tribals of Eastern India on a Homi Bhabha Fellowship.
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Sitakant Mahapatra has two books on social anthropology published by the Oxford University Press, these books deal with the ambivalent relationship between the old ritual based society and state-sponsored development, and explores the reason behind developmental programs failing in tribal areas despite state efforts.